3 of a Kind

~click image to enlarge~

7.5"x10"  Soft Pastel on board

"You said What?"  That was my first thought when setting these guys in place.  One is eavesdropping on the other two's conversation.

For these small pastels, I've been using the AS Colourfix primer on archival foamboard.  I like seeing the texture of the brush strokes showing up through the pastels applied on the surface.  

A Lovely Single Pear!

Click on image to enlarge

7"x5"  Soft Pastel on board

I'm back to painting pears (did my 30 Days/30 Paintings challenge in January using this subject).  This time using Soft Pastels....(did the challenge all as 6x6 Oils.)

I am joining fellow artists Carlene Dingman Atwater and Carroll Michalek in showing small works we've done so far this year.  All will be on display/for sale the month of June at the Burns Gallery & Tea Emporium, Bonaparte, IA.



Experimenting with palette knife painting...

It was an interesting experiment having students try something out of there "comfort zone" in class last night.  The LAST picture above shows the use of a limited palette.....nothing of what the color of the actual pear set up was showing this student.  She had to focus on the "values" she saw before her and match her color scheme accordingly.

The other student for the evening (at TOP) easily became agitated  working with so much paint on her canvas....pushing things around with a knife.  Her style of painting is conservative, thin layers of color applied by brush to canvas. 

Keeping the "simple-single still life" set up allowed us to finish a work in a very short time.

Next week we're talking about how color "temperature" affects our mood in creating, along with the viewers reaction to a finished work.  The subject focus will be the Landscape!

Working on Wine Still life

I have a small oil painting class that is held on a regular basis  Thursday evenings.  We have fun creating at the studio in the Courtyard Gallery & Studio, located on the business square of Bloomfield, IA.

Above shows us finishing up a wine still life set up.  These ladies improve and gain confidence with each painting they create.  It's exciting for me to witness their growth.

Thanks so much Jeane Dixon for the use of your studio.  The lighting is Wonderful and there is plenty of space for several people to create...Create...CREATE! 

Check out her gallery. http://www.courtyardgalleryandstudio.com